As former India skipper Sourav Ganguly turns 45, wishes from all corners of the cricketing world started to pour in for the legendary Indian cricketer. Also known as 'Dada', Sourav Ganguly is remembered as one of the finest captains in world cricket with a distinct style and immense cricketing knowledge. Since making his dream debut at the iconic Lord’s in 1996, the ‘Prince of Kolkata’ went on to write numerous memorable tales in the history of Indian cricket during his glorious career.

Often credited for changing the face of Indian cricket - Sourav Ganguly is also responsible for giving Indian cricket a plethora of future stars like – Virender Sehwag, Yuvraj Singh, Harbhajan Singh, Zaheer Khan and MS Dhoni who went on to make it big at the international arena.

The attacking left-hander went on to lead Team India in 49 Tests and 147 ODIs. His Test record as captain on foreign soil is still the best in terms of stats in Indian cricket. He throughout remained a thoroughly successful skipper during his reign. Also referred as the ‘God on the off-side’ – Sourav Ganguly was also a legendary batsman. He made 7,212 runs in 113 Test matches at an average of 42.17. While in ODIs, Ganguly made 11,363 runs in 311 games.

Ganguly finally called it quits in 2008 after the home series against Australia.

On his special day, former cricketers and fans shared heartfelt messages and wishes on Twitter for their favourite captain: